As a temp, try to be prepared

Q I am a good administrative assistant who has been working temp for six months, but a variety of office problems make me wonder if I should continue doing so. My sister says she read and saved a column you wrote about temp work a few years ago, but she can't find it now. Can you publish that column again please? — S.B.

A Sure thing:

Q I am a paralegal who works on temporary assignments and will soon be looking for a new assignment. The problem is that the longer I work on temp jobs, the more exposed I am to receiving negative references for future work.

There's always a backstabber or someone trying to cover up their own errors by blaming the temp. We get directions secondhand from a middle person, so we don't have the original instructions — we don't have trouble hearing or understanding! In comparing notes with other temps, I find that blaming others seems to be part of a pattern of certain people who themselves drop the ball.

All it takes is one or two bad reviews to create trouble for temps. How much value do employers put on temporary jobs when reviewing résumés? — C.D.

A Everyone wants to point the finger of blame in any direction other than at a mirror.

Ask your staffing agency point person about the client's experience with previous paralegals: Has there been a red-flag number of complaints from either side? If the client looks like trouble ahead, consider passing up the assignment to avoid the “blame-the-temp” syndrome.

If you take the assignment, draft a memo of your understanding of your duties, hours, tools and reporting structure. Keep a copy and hand one to your supervisor with the comment that you pride yourself on doing good work and that you would appreciate being corrected if you have any misperception of what's expected of you.

When you're scapegoated for a blunder that wasn't yours, stand up for yourself. Be assertive — but not angry or snippy. State facts, not emotions. If the blistering continues, think of a question that will slow the verbal slaughter and provide the information you need to move forward. Here are four ways to phrase your question.

•”Where do you think communication has broken down?”

•“Against what standard do you make the judgment that I mishandled that work? Was I instructed otherwise?”

•“You make a strong accusation, and I believe you wouldn't have said it without a good reason. Can you share that reason with me?”

•“Can you help me to understand why you feel so strongly that I'm the one who made the mistake?”

Don't fall into the trap of naming names in the blame game. The most you should say is something like, “I'm sorry this difficulty occurred, but, as I've explained, I had nothing to do with the error.”

Suppose you've had a run-in with your supervisor and expect the worst. Ask for a few minutes with the firm's managing partner, succinctly state your side of the story, provide any documentation available and ask for a written reference in the name of fairness.

But what if the chief is the culprit? There's no simple answer. Start with appealing for fair play and, if that doesn't work, move to writing a concise version of the flap for your personnel file at your staffing agency.

You ask how much value employers place on temp work when reviewing résumés, but I think you mean when they're making hiring decisions. If you've had a problem on even one assignment for staffing agency A, switch to staffing agency B, and then to agency C, to provide additional references to smooth out the first bump. Protecting your reference base is an argument for working with more than one staffing agency.

Recognize that you're at the bottom of the feud chain working as a short-termer. It's sinfully easy to blame “that dumb temp” when things go wrong, so armor yourself with extra knowledge about dealing with supervisors.

Email career questions for possible use in this column to Joyce Lain Kennedy at jlk@sunfeatures.com; use “Reader Question” for subject line. Or mail her at Box 368, Cardiff, CA 92007.

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